ADOPTED BY THE SIDEMEN

· Dry DMs ·

***

Holly's POV

***

It's the next day and JJ and I haven't had the chance to have a chat about the argument last night. For one, I woke up at ten and JJ had a meeting at nine so he's not home.

"Morning!" Talia smiles.

"Morning," I smile back, making my way over to the coffee pot.

I pour myself a mug of steaming coffee and join Talia on the sofa. She's nursing her own mug of coffee against her chest as her acrylic nails flip through the magazine pages in her lap. She runs a hand through her short, ruffled blonde hair and raises an eyebrow at me. Her eyeliner is perfect as always and looks sharp enough to cut toast.

"Have you spoken to JJ yet?"

I shake my head no and pull my legs onto the sofa to cross them. I sip my coffee and sigh.

"He has meetings all day. I won't get a chance to talk to him, he's been so busy lately"

Talia rubs my shoulder and half-smiles half pouts. "He's got a lot of things going on, doll. I'm sure you two will be right as rain in the morning when you find time to talk"

"What would I even say?" I sigh. "JJ was really mean towards Ben"

Talia shrugs. "I think you need to tell JJ that you have feelings for Ben. If he knows you like him then maybe he'll understand why you feel so strongly about what he said last night"

I nod and shake my head, chuckling. "Ben didn't mean to offend anyone, Talia"

"Sweetie, I know. JJ just wants to make sure you're safe and know what goes on with teenage boys. Not all of them are great, as JJ said, but I do think Ben is one of the good ones. Just make sure he sees that"

"You're so wise, T"

"I know," Talia laughs. "I should start a business"

***

Talia and I waste the morning by drinking coffee and watching Netflix. Simon wakes up at twelve and he and Talia decide to make fajitas for lunch. As they make them, I sit at the kitchen counter and watch them. Simon catches my eye.

"JJ said he wants to talk to you when he gets back at nine. It's about Ben"

"Great," I mutter. "What's he going to call Ben now? A rapist? A murderer? A psychopath?"

"Holly-" Simon starts, sounding all "parenty" and frowning.

"Whatever. I'm not hungry"

"Holly!"

I walk to my bedroom and shut the door behind me, blocking Simon's voice. I know I'm being a typical teenager who has mood swings but it's not fair for the boys to expect me to be happy when they accused someone I liked of being a sex fiend.

I expect Simon to come after me and tell me off for ignoring him but he doesn't come. I just sigh and throw my pillow against the wall in frustration. It's not fair. It's really not fair. Ben is a good guy.

I check my phone for messages but Ben has left my DM's dry. I plug in my headphones and just blast my playlist to help clear my mind.

***

I refuse to eat when Talia knocks at my door with a plate and she leaves me alone for the rest of the day. Simon tries to talk to me but I ignore his obnoxious knocking. He finally gets the message and leaves me alone too.

***

Nine pm finally rolls around and I groan when I hear JJ speaking in the living room. I'm not in the mood to talk and I know he'll be in my room any second now.